HAJIPUR (BIHAR): Despite the nation-wide lockdown, a youth was allegedly kidnapped for forcibly married to a girl (pakadua vivah) in the neighbouring Vaishali district on Tuesday.
The wedding was solemnised in just 10 minutes. While the abducted youth was seen screamig during the 'wedding', the girl was weeping as she was also being married off without her consent.
The youth's father Musafir Rai of Naurangpur of Mahanar police station area has lodged an FIR in Jandaha police station stating that his son Amit Kumar was kidnapped for marriage on March 24. Rai said his son was abducted after he left homw to a nearby pharmacy.
According to the FIR, the victim was picked up in a Bolero jeep near Jandaha Hospital and taken to Baruna Rasalpur of Halai OP in Samastipur district to solemnize the pakadua vivah.
Jandaha SHO Ajay Kumar said the police have filed an FIR and taking action.
Groom kidnapping for marriage, colloquially known as Pakaruah vivah is a phenomenon in the western parts of Bihar wherein eligible bachelors are abducted by the bride's family and later forcefully married, to avoid heavy dowry costs.
Pakadua Vivah is rampant in Vaishali, Patna, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur and Begusarai districts of the state.
In January this year, as many as 270 cases of kidnapping for marriages were registered in the state. While the police had registered 4498 cases of alleged kidnapping for marriages in 2019, 4,317 cases of abduction for the same reason were filed in the previous year.